It is too early to talk gun control until more is known regarding Wednesday's deadly school shooting in Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Wednesday evening.
Local authorities confirmed at a press conference shortly before 6:30 p.m. ET that 17 people were killed in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Rubio was asked about the tragedy during a Capitol Hill interview on Fox News.
"It's not [the appropriate time], only because people don't know how this happened, who this person is, what motivated them, how did they get a hold of the weapon that they used for this attack," Rubio said. "It's important to know all of that before you jump to conclusions that there's some law we could have passed that could have prevented it. There may be, but shouldn't we at least know the facts?
"We can always have that debate, but if you're going to have the debate about this particular incident, you should know the facts of that incident before you run out and prescribe some law you claim could have prevented it.
"I've seen a lot of that on television. Maybe there is a law that could have prevented this instance, but we don't know that, and neither do they."
Rubio said his office has been in touch with authorities on the ground in South Florida and called the shooting "a terrible situation."
Police arrested a 19-year-old former student who they was responsible for the shooting.